1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to motion detectors, monitoring systems and security systems. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a wireless transceiver that once positioned, can automatically calculate and determine the existing structure of the area and monitor for incoming or outgoing objects. The direction of the objects is determined to provide a means of monitoring, deterring or notifying of an intrusion into the monitored space, as programmed. The device applies to a variety of locations and for various purposes, such as pest deterrence, home security, area monitoring or other similar situations where human vigilance may be impossible but knowledge of object presence or deterrence is desired.
The present invention provides a means to monitor a given area and significantly reduce false alarms, which are common for standard motion detection systems and alarm systems of this type. An opposing barrier or surface is calibrated when the emitter/receiver (transceiver) is initialized, which allows a processor to determine a baseline state and establish the natural boundaries of its detection zone and realize what reflections will always be present during operation. A plurality of sensors emits a signal from a transceiver, where the signal reflects from objects within the field of view of the emitter. The reflections of the emitted signal are monitored by a receiver. Deviations in the baseline state (i.e. natural boundaries) are calculated to determine if a violation has occurred over an environmental disturbance. Action may be taken if a violation has indeed occurred, which may include activation of different alerts or alarm means, or further processing of the deviations for specific actions based on the situation and scenario for which the present invention is deployed. Several embodiments and uses of the present device and detection method are herein disclosed.
Processing software within the device determines a suitable alarm for a given scenario. This may include an audible alarm for indicating human entry, an inaudible but ultrasonic alarm for a pet or pest control, or a wireless alert to covertly indicate an intrusion, wherein an audible alert may not otherwise be desired. Use of the present invention for tracking game balls is also contemplated, where a game ball can be tracked within a given zone for golf or baseball game activity. Direction processing of the object within the field of view of the transceiver allows strategies to be programmed into the device, such as activating the alarm to alert upon entry into, but not on exit from a given threshold. The use of several transmitters allows for the object direction of motion or direction vector to be determined, while the algorithms within the processor monitor and initiate appropriate actions if a violation is encountered, based on programmed action conditions. The transceivers are provided using wireless technology, which allows for remote device programming from and communication to a common base station. Alerts may form as signals that are wirelessly transmitted to the base station, reducing wiring difficulties, while the wireless construction of the transceiver facilitates rapid or covert installation if so desired. Wireless messaging alerts from multiple devices is possible, where a common base station continually monitors a plurality of different transceivers in a given area.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, Infrared (IR) detection devices were not directional, as they often relied on an emitter placed opposite of a receiver device. Detection occurred by blocking the beam completely and initiating an alarm. More modern methods of IR sensor devices use an emitter and receiver but offer no approach to determine the level of signal reflectivity as a function of distance. Often these devices can only accommodate a fixed door width and do not automatically adjust for the variable width of any door or opening that is required to be guarded.
Pet training devices are not based on IR beam detection or blockage, but commonly rely on Passive Infrared (PIR) devices that detect proximity within a room area. PIR devices can detect the presence of a pet inside a room but only as motion detection, with the direction of movement across an entryway area being unknown. Keeping pets out of specific room having a single or multiple entryways is not generally possible unless a directional device is used. It is desired that the present invention includes the ability to program for situations where a pet is to be penalized for entering the room or area but not penalized for exiting the same area. Knowledge of the object and the ability to detect the object direction of motion are required for enabling this feature.
Conventional devices utilizing ultrasound for remote sensing, such as ultrasonic burglar alarms, have been severely limited by the directionality of ultrasonic beams, acoustical shadowing and limited range inherently characteristic of ultrasonic devices. For this reason they have been largely replaced by radio frequency and infrared transceivers. Although ultrasonic beams can be placed across a door frame, the scattering of a beam is unpredictable at short range and may lead to many false alarms. Ultrasonic emitters and receivers are also generally more expensive than IR emitters and receivers.
In the pet field, electronic containment systems and remote trainers use radio frequency based transmitters and receivers. These devices are expensive to produce and are severely restricted by the fact that they create interference with other radio frequency transmissions. To avoid this problem, manufacturers must use extremely low powered devices, practical for only very short-range operation, or subject the design to restrictions placed upon it by regulating agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The use of ultrasound has been largely ignored as an alternative for the reasons listed above.
IR detection devices are typically not used because of their interference with televisions and remote control devices that commonly employ IR for active switching. More commonly, IR receivers are now available that operate at frequencies that do not interfere with common remote switching devices. For example, remote controls operate at an IR carrier frequency of 38 to 56 KHz, and more IR receiving devices are available at 25 KHz or over 100 KHz to 4 MHz (such as IrDA) to minimize interference with television remote signals. IR receivers also have built-in automatic gain control features that allow them to be reliable even in darkness and direct sunlight, and further from large interference sources such as incandescent, fluorescent and CFL lights.
Remote pet trainers typically use a hand held radio frequency transmitter to activate a single output (usually an electric shock or an irritating sound pulse) at the receiver worn by the pet. The single output of conventional systems is used as a negative reinforcing stimulus rather than a positive enforcement of a specific behavior. If pets are to be shock-trained using shock collars, or sonically trained using ultrasonic sound bursts, then wireless devices using directional detection devices can shock them if they enter a room only, and allow the pet to safely leave the room without receiving a second correction burst, which would be counterproductive. The ability to determine direction as well as actual presence of an object allows the pet to be corrected when entering but not if they are leaving the room.
Another method of pet detection that is commonly deployed is based on an active or passive RFID installed on a pet collar. Reader systems for these devices are not inexpensive, nor do they have long ranges for a door opening, and further are not easily mounted onto a door frame. As such RFID's are another source of technology that cannot be used to determine direction of motion of an object as provided by the present invention. These RFID systems can further not be used for passive detection without an actual RFID on the object in motion, limiting their use.
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to object detection systems and alarm systems. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications, and generally relate to wired systems that fail to calculate both the presence and vector of the object being detected. A review of the patents in the prior art reveal no similar device, structure or method of monitoring that describes features of the present invention. The prior art fail to address several key improvements disclosed by the present invention and incorporate inherent drawbacks that limit their usefulness or novelty. Specifically, the ability to monitor motion using a plurality of sensors, the ability to calibrate to a given area and calculate alertable events, and finally the combination of these aspects with the structure of the device and its wireless operation are unique aspects in the field that are not previously disclosed. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,162 to Fredericks describes a device that monitors direction of motion of objects to determine, in a manner in which substantially avoids false alarms, whether there is object motion in a direction of interest. The device may be employed as a warning signal in response to a vehicular traffic conditions of interest and include at least a pair of motion detectors. Each motion detector processes motion bearing signals to determine distance traveled in a predetermined time period to minimize false alarms. The Fredericks device is suitable for determining if a vehicle is traveling along a road in the incorrect direction, prompting a signal to drivers and authorities of the hazard. The present invention pertains to a small unit or system of units that comprise transceivers that measure the environment and react based on programmed logic for the given condition, where entry detection and vector calculations are conducted for various ends.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,707,486 to Millet describes an alarm system that automatically monitors activity and directional motion in a predetermined area. When the system detects a particular movement in an area, an alarm is triggered which ultimately notifies a system operator or allows the system to initiate some other automated activity. The system detects movement by comparing changes in the center of mass of objects captured in sequential video image frames. In addition, filters may be added to decrease the number of false alarms. Specifically, the alarms may only be generated if the system detects movement in a particular direction. The Millet device pertains to a video monitoring system and software therefor, where the center of mass of an object is calculated and tracked for alarm triggering.
U.S. Published Patent Application, Publication No. 2010/0238030 to Shafer discloses a detector system including a detector and method for sensing motion within a detection region. The detector has a detection element and a focusing element aiming received energy corresponding to a presence within the detection region toward the detection element. The focusing element has a plurality of sections in which each of the plurality of sections establishes a corresponding detection zone within the detection region. The plurality of sections are arranged to allow a motion vector to be determined for an object passing through the detection region. The Shafer disclosure utilizes zones of detection to determine object movement, while the present invention utilizes a pair of transceivers or a system thereof to determine the presence and direction of an object entering the transceiver's field of view.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,863 to Krubiner discloses a method and apparatus for detecting intrusions, such as intrusions through a door or window of a room, in a manner which ignores movements in other adjacent regions. The method includes exposing the monitored space to a passive infrared sensor having a first sensor element generating a positive polarity signal when its field of view senses an infrared-radiating moving object, and a second sensor element generating a negative polarity signal when its field of view senses an infrared-radiating moving object. A movement signal is generated when both signals have been generated within a first time interval such as to indicate the movement of an object within the monitored space. The relative sequential order of the movement signal the direction of movement of the detected object is determined to realize a hostile or friendly direction, whereby an alarm is actuated when the direction of the movement signal is determined to be hostile.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,020 to Lee discloses a dual pyroelectric-effect sensor having the sensing elements aligned in a motion plane permits direction determinations to be made for moving IR sources. Dual sensing-element PIR sensors provide different voltage outputs depending upon a relative direction of movement of an object and the sensing elements. By alternating the effective polarizations of the sensing elements in the PIR sensor, clear direction information is available from the PIR sensor. A direction detecting circuit working in cooperation with a switch controller employing a counter and a timer, permits independent tallying of entrances and exits. Upon the counter indicating that the number of objects that exited the area equals the number of objects that entered, the lights are immediately extinguished. The timer ensures that the lights turn off should incorrect values become recorded in the counter. The Lee device is based on a timer and counter to determine when to activate and deactivate light sources within a room.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,022 to Kuhnly discloses a detection system and method capable of reducing the occurrence of false alarms and detection failures by compensating for variations in the amplitude of a detection signal generated by a PIR sensor. An adaptive threshold can be used that varies according to ambient temperature of the detection area and the frequency of the detection signal. Comparison of the detection signal to the adaptive threshold allows compensation for temperature- and/or frequency-induced variations in detection signal amplitude. The adaptive threshold can be configured for standard detection area conditions or calibrated for conditions at the installation site. Relative measurement and adaptive sampling techniques also can be used to compensate for the presence of low frequency shifts in the detection signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,285 discloses an electrical bi-directional motion sensing and clocking system is disclosed for identifying the relative sense and magnitude of movement experienced by a moving body. The corresponding relative motion of a target past a pair of sensor units produces a pair of input signal pulses from the sensors for each increment of movement experienced by the moving body. Each occurrence of such a pair of input pulses is recorded and gives rise to a clock output signal upon the recorded occurrence of both input signals. The relative occurrence sequence of the two input signals is also recorded and utilized to provide a respectively corresponding output representing the direction of body movement to be associated with the detected movement increment.
The present invention provides an entryway motion detection system that can determine the presence and direction of an object within the field of view of a transceiver. The device operates wirelessly to allow deployment without expensive installation costs, and the device can be programmed to operate in a number of different environments for tracking the direction of an object. It is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing motion and area monitoring devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.